February 9 2016, 17.26 PM IST || Pocket News Alert
NEW DELHI, India – February 9, 2016 – Have you ever thought about the disposable trash? Ever thought about what the answer/ solution might be? Did you have an Idea how can you let the concerned group know? Thought of having a platform to address this issue? your research and solution to people who recycle, transport, store, reuse, or create trash? Could there be a group with whom you share or someone who helped you learns about your problem? Can you think of any other groups of people who might be interested in your idea?
The question was addressed with an internationally accamlied Robotics Competition – ‘FIRST LEGO League India.‘
The National Championship of The FIRST LEGO League was organized on 9th & 10th February 2016 at Talkatora Stadium, New Delhi. The regional chapters of FLL were held at various schools across Ahmedabad, Coimbatore, Chennai, Mumbai, Pune, Vijaywada and Delhi/NCR. Nearly 390 Children from different schools across the country, had participated in this national competition. The National winners will represent India at the World Festival, USA from 27th to 30th April 2016.
FLL, organized by India STEM Foundation in India, provides a platform for children between the age group of nine to 16 years to excite them about science and technology along with teaching them valuable employment and essential life skills. This year, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd – leading automobile maker in India and RoboGenius academy are the national sponsors of FLL India 2015-16 season.
This year’s challenge – Trash Trek in which children explored the fascinating world of what people throw away. From collection, to sorting, to smart production and reuse, there is more to the garbage than meets the eye. The competition called for teams to research and present their own creative applications of solutions to improve people’s lives. After in-depth research and design, the partcipaints and mentors demonstrated their problem-solving skills, creative thinking, teamwork, competitive play and sportsmanship.
Speaking on the ocassion, Mr Sudhanshu Sharma, Director & CEO at India STEM Foundation expressed, “FLL is an international competition for 9-16 year olds that challenges them to develop innovative solutions for a real world problem, using research, robots and other hands-on learning tools. I see several potential startup ideas in the solutions presented by these young students here today. Many of these can be developed into commercially viable ventures by our public and private sector bodies in the field of waste management. I am excited to see the interest shown by Govt. of India in our programs and we are looking forward to work more closely with them to make our programs accessible to students across India.”
Mr Rajesh Uppal, Executive Director, IT and Training & Development at Maruti Suzuki India Limited said, “Maruti Suzuki has been working in the area of skill development with several partners. The idea is to nurture and strengthen skill pool in the country. This platform gives us an opportunity to promote and nurture creativity and innovation at early stages of learning. Some of the solutions created by the children will bring immense value to the ‘Swach Bharat’ mission of Govt. of India.”
“We are just awestruck with the creation of these children and it displays how technology can be used to find solutions to burning problem of common men.” mentioned, Dr. Shabnam Sharma, CEO, RoboGenius Academy.
The FLL competition was judged in four areas: project presentation; robot performance; technical design and programming of the robot; and teamwork. The highest honor will go to the team that best exemplifies the spirit and values of the program.
